NEW DELHI, Jan 15 - Days after China blocked India�s proposal in the UN, the world body�s key member France has pitched for designating Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar as an international terrorist, saying there are �very strong arguments in favour� of such a move.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, who was on a four-day India visit, also sent out a veiled message to China without naming it, saying �the international community�s determination to combat terrorism must be the same everywhere, regardless of the threat.�
Pointing out that Azhar�s outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad �is already included in the (Sanctions) Committee�s list of terrorist organisations,� he told PTI in an interview, �therefore, there are very strong arguments in favour of listing its chief, as India has requested.�
That�s why, he said, France not only supported but also co-sponsored the Indian request at the UN Security Council.
India had submitted in February last year a proposal to the 15-member 1267 Sanctions Committee of the UN Security Council to list Azhar as an international terrorist for masterminding the attack on Pathankot air base.
Since then, China had twice imposed �technical hold� on the Indian proposal and finally on December 30 last, it blocked it, becoming the only country to do so.
�We regret that, despite our joint efforts and wide support from the Committee, unanimity could not be reached,� said Ayrault, whose country is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.
He said France will now discuss with India what should be done. �India knows it can count on our support,� he added.
Azhar, a resident of Bahawalpur in Pakistan, was one of the three terrorists freed by India in exchange of 166 hostages of Indian Airlines plane IC-814 which was hijacked to Kandahar in December 1999. � PTI